The X-Men '97 finale has finally arrived with an explosive conclusion! Bastion unleashes Sentinel attacks globally, turning all of humanity into living weapons to eradicate mutants! This forces superheroes worldwide into action, with even the technologically advanced Wakanda struggling to cope! The X-Men find themselves divided at a critical juncture. How will Professor X convince Magneto to avert another war? And lead everyone to save the world? Below, we'll delve into the Easter eggs from the X-Men '97 Episodes 9 and 10 finale and offer a glimpse into the mysteries of Season 2 ~~
1. Storm
At the beginning of Episode 9, Storm and Professor X rejoin the X-Men roster. The black costume Storm wears is her attire after regaining her powers, also originating from the Uncanny X-Men comics.
2. Leech's Death
Professor X attempts to persuade Magneto to cease his retaliatory attacks on humanity, but Magneto states that under Professor X's ideology, he couldn't protect all mutants, instead watching a helpless mutant boy die in his arms. This refers to Leech, the child he desperately tried to protect during the Genosha incident.
3. Classic Costumes
For the X-Men's final battle, they all don their classic colored costumes from the Uncanny X-Men comics.
4. Black Bodysuits
When Cable receives his X-Men uniform, he complains about its colors, to which Cyclops retorts, "What did you expect? Black leather?" This is a jab at the costume colors from the 2000 live-action X-Men film. In that movie, Wolverine also disliked his uniform, and Cyclops, in turn, joked about the yellow spandex from the comics~
5. Morph Smashes
Morph transforms into different characters for each combat situation. This time, facing the Sentinel army on Bastion's island, Morph transforms into the Incredible Hulk and even shouts "Morph Smash!"
6. DeMayo's Diner
Morph-Hulk smashes a Sentinel robot into the sign of a restaurant named DeMayo's Diner, a tribute to the show's writer and producer, Beau DeMayo.
7. Wolverine's Death
After Wolverine attacks Magneto, he suffers Magneto's retaliation, who extracts all the Adamantium from his body, leaving him paralyzed and unconscious. This scene references an event from the comic Fatal Attractions.
8. Turn! Turn! Turn!
The opening music for Episode 10 is the American folk song "Turn! Turn! Turn!" The version used is the 1965 cover by the veteran American folk band The Byrds, which was also featured in the movie Forrest Gump.
The lyrics of this song are taken from the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament, speaking of the changes and constants in all things. The final line sings, "A time for peace, I swear it's not too late!" This echoes the debate between Professor X and Magneto about whether mutants and humans can coexist peacefully.
9. Iron Man, Captain America
In Episode 7, Captain America told Rogue that his team was also investigating the Genosha incident. Sure enough, in this episode, we see Captain America and Iron Man in Washington D.C., holding an emergency meeting with the U.S. President and other international leaders~
Notably, Iron Man did not appear in the old X-Men animated series, but his design corresponds to the art style of other old animated series like Spider-Man.
10. Daredevil
In Hell's Kitchen, Daredevil is also busy fighting the Sentinel army. In the corner, you can spot Josie's Bar, a very important location in the Daredevil series.
11. Doctor Strange
We see Doctor Strange in an operating room, using magic to remotely control surgical instruments for an operation. This is different from his main universe counterpart, who did not give up his medical profession after his car accident.
12. Black Panther
In Wakanda, civilians controlled by Sentinel robots appear. Black Panther and the Dora Milaje jointly block the Sentinel army's attack. Later, at the UN meeting, we learn that this Black Panther is King T'Chaka, not T'Challa.
In the 1997 Fantastic Four cartoon, Black Panther was revealed to be T'Challa. However, writer Beau DeMayo stated on X that this involves a non-disclosure agreement, and he couldn't reveal why this change was made, implying it was a decision from Marvel executives. Since the passing of actor Chadwick Boseman, Marvel has actively avoided replacing him through any recasting.
Interestingly, Black Panther in the old cartoon did not have an African accent, while the new version retains the main universe's trilled accent, which was originally developed by Boseman himself.
13. Mandela
Additionally, at the meeting, another African head of state can be seen, likely Nelson Mandela, the first democratically elected president of South Africa. His term was from 1994 to 1999, which aligns with the current timeline of the series.
14. Cloak and Dagger
Cloak and Dagger also participate in this large-scale battle. Although they first appeared in the 1982 Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #64 comic, they had not appeared in the old animated series before. They made their first appearance in live-action media in the 2014 Disney Channel Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon.
Marvel Television once produced a live-action Cloak & Dagger series, but currently, like the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. series, it is not considered part of the main MCU canon for now.
15. Winter Guard
Represented by Omega Red (front), Darkstar (rear right), and Crimson Dynamo (rear left), this Russian team is called the Winter Guard.
In the old cartoon, Omega Red was the Russian government's political response to Captain America and frequently clashed with the X-Men. Due to the geopolitical climate of the time, Omega Red was naturally portrayed as an antagonist opposing the United States.
16. Alpha Flight
The mutants in this scene are Northstar, Psylocke, Cipher, Puck, and Aurora. Northstar, Aurora, and Puck are members of Canada's Alpha Flight, who previously appeared in the old cartoon's "The Phalanx Covenant" episode.
Incidentally, Alpha Flight made a cameo appearance in Deadpool 2, which was, of course, a joke because Ryan Reynolds himself is Canadian~
17. Mister Fantastic, Sauron
In this episode, Morph also transforms into Sauron, the Pterodactyl from the Savage Land, who previously appeared as an in-game Easter egg in Episode 4, "Motendo." Additionally, he emergency-transformed into Mister Fantastic during the battle.
18. Magneto Protocol
At the emergency UN meeting, we can see Magneto's other aliases on the "Magneto Protocol," paying tribute to the actors who portrayed him in various film and television works:
David Hemblen: The late Canadian actor who voiced Magneto in the old cartoon.
Ian M-: Sir Ian McKellen, who played the older Magneto in the Fox universe.
Michael F-: Michael Fassbender, who played the younger Magneto in the Fox universe.
19. Magneto's Children
When Professor X tries to persuade Magneto in the psychic plane, he says, "When we are weary or the waters are high, it is people like Rogue who help us stay afloat." The visualized scene shows Rogue on a boat, facing turbulent waters, with Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver standing beside her. The shadow on the right is the mutant Aurora. In the comics, they are all Magneto's children.
20. Peter and MJ
Peter Parker, MJ, and Flash Thompson, who passes by, are watching the news report. This scene is actually very important because in the final season of the 1994 Spider-Man cartoon, the real MJ went missing in a parallel universe, and the MJ by Peter's side was always a clone. In the finale, Madame Web took Peter to find the real MJ. Now, the two are finally reunited, which made fans quite emotional~
It's worth mentioning that ending: Spider-Man came to our real world and met his creator, Stan "The Man" Lee. Madame Web, who came to take him away, was voiced by Stan Lee's wife, Joan Lee. Their dialogue even "pretended" it was their first meeting ~~
21. Forge's Real Name
Bishop, who suddenly visits, calls Forge by his name "Daniel" to prove they are friends in the future. In fact, in the comics, Forge's real name has never been officially confirmed, but in early drafts by Forge's creator, Chris Claremont, Forge's given name was set as Daniel Lone Eagle.
22. Time Travel
The X-Men successfully cause Planet M to explode in space, preventing it from crashing into Earth. This also accidentally sends them into different timelines. Magneto, Beast, Professor X, Rogue, and Nightcrawler find themselves in ancient Egypt in 3000 BC, where they encounter En Sabah Nur, a young Apocalypse.
Meanwhile, Cyclops and Jean Grey arrive in the distant future of 3000 AD, where they meet their young son, Nathan, also known as Cable.
23. Apocalypse
In the post-credits scene, Apocalypse arrives at the ruins of Genosha in the present day and unearths a damaged Queen of Hearts card. According to the comic storyline, Apocalypse will resurrect Gambit in the next season and make him one of his "Four Horsemen": Death.
